"The door is over there," Hartley pointed out - obviously able to hear him - but he let him in anyway, while wondering why he suddenly wished he had had a heads up. What would he have done and what for? The place was as tidy as it would ever be, it wasn't as if he owned much, and he was wearing a black hoodie and dark trousers, also much as he always would. He looked at Axel as he stepped back to let him come in. "You could have called ahead."
"Lisa finally said it was cool to do stuff and I got too excited, I started to leave but I totally forgot my phone so here I am." He took off first chance he got and he didn't prepare. He did, however, take time to rob a store and was currently picking up the shopping bag he had for Hartley. "I got stuff. It was expensive so I think it's like all organic and shit. You like that stuff, right? I forgot if you were vegetarian or vegan so I got you no dairy just in case."
He grinned excitedly and bounced a little. "Now you have a food and I should have rat cuddles, yeah?"
"I'm vegetarian, but I actually like a lot of the vegan milk options, so..." Hartley realised that that wasn't so important and so he just took the bag from Axel and took it into what passed as a kitchen for him while whistling softly under his breath. In the cage in the corner, well, really in the cage that made up about one third of the apartment, some rats rustled. Echo on the other hand came out from Hartley's hood to perch on his shoulder and look at Axel curiously.
"Oh God, look at them." Axel grinned with delight and flailed a little, moving in and holding out his hand, beckoning the rat until she happily started to climb onto the new person, eager to explore. "Hello, beautiful. Aren't you a sight? Are you gonna be my new best friend?"
Echo landed on his shoulder and sniffed him. He took that as a yes. Excited, he beamed at Hartley. "This is the best." It really was. "I also bought rat food."
"You can feed Echo, she'll eat anything. She'll also never be scared of anything or anyone, it's fascinating. The others are shy, she never was." Hartley let out another whistle and Echo sat up, holding her paws up for Axel to look extra adorable. "Thank you for all the food, Axel. I just meant that you should get something for yourself, because I'd have nothing to offer you."
"But you're low on cash, right? You said before so I got you food. That's what friends do and we're friends. Cause friends visit each other and give each other rat pictures and stuff." Axel insisted as he petted Echo and watched her be fucking adorable in his direction. Sure, he stole all of that shit and hurt a few people getting it but what Hartley didn't know, Axel wasn't going to tell him.
"I don't need to eat, I'm not hungry." He slowly coated Echo into his hands, lifting her up so she could nuzzle his cheek. "You do."
"I'm low, I'm not starving. I just don't keep more than I really need." Hartley smiled and turned around to watch Axel with Echo, nodding his head approvingly. "You look cute together." He stepped back into the room and sat down across from Axel. "So, how is the rogue life? A lot better than prison, I'd assume. Less time to read comics though."
"I still read comics. I follow Midnighter now, it's pretty rad." He dropped down onto the floor across from Hartley, near the rat cage, opening the door so the others could join him as he crossed his legs and watched Hartley, grinning contently. "I like it. Me and Lisa are pretty good together, she really hates my hair and it's so funny, I have to keep it this way forever." Regardless of how he felt personally. "I, er, I did something too."
He looked up at Hartley, letting Echo crawl along his shoulders. "I started my meds."
"I thought so. I can see it when you fidget less." No need to pretend otherwise. Hartley looked into the rat cage and whistled again, low and under his breath and, sure enough, three other rats came out, all of them just chilling between them now, with one of them sniffing Hartley's hand before walking off disapprovingly. "I'm glad about the meds, Axel. I don't know about the hair though. Doesn't bring out your eyes the same way."
"It's just a bit of fun. I don't think I'll keep it forever but I do like the agony it causes people." Axel mused as he lifted one of the stray rats up and kissed it's little head, setting the rat back down to continue his adventure. "I didn't want to but I talked it over with Lisa a little and she gave me that push I needed." He grinned and shuffled a little bit closer to Hartley. "Look at me, I'm being a responsible adult."
Heh. Wait. "Oh! Shit. Do not tell my parents, they'll freak!" Just in case.
Hartley moved his hand to run his fingers through Axel's blond hair, combing it back from his face. Better. He looked into his eyes and smiled. "I don't exactly spend much time talking to your parents, Axel. Don't worry. If I want to tell anyone's parents that I have a friend who is popping pills, I'd tell my own." Wouldn't that be fun.
He lowered his hand again before he could get any smart ideas. "I'm proud of you. How are you feeling?"
"I still need to go to dinner with your parents and scare them."
Maybe he'd even find and wear his tiara for it. If there was one thing Axel Walker could not do, it was pretend to be straight. He wasn't straight, he wasn't even close to straight. He screamed gay and he was excited to use that to his and Hartley's advantage. "I'm feeling sick a lot and I keep getting dizzy but otherwise, okay, I guess. More stable, I think."
"Make sure you drink enough. Water, I mean, not alcohol." Just in case there was any confusion about that. "I'd take you to dinner with my parents, you know I would, but that would set the police on your sweet ass in no time." Honestly, even if they didn't recognise Axel, he still wouldn't be surprised if they called the police anyway, just because. They weren't the most welcoming of people.
"Well, tell me it wouldn't be a memorable dinner." Axel joked with a bright grin, holding Echo close as he watched Hartley. Handsome Hartley, beautiful Hartley. The pretty piper of his dreams. He set Echo down gently and then slowly crawled across the floor until he was sitting in front of Hartley, pretty much putting his head in his lap like a needy dog. "You're so good to me. When did you get to be so good?"
Hartley let Axel lie down and then automatically ended up petting his hair. He whistled, low and steady, watching as his rats decided to walk back into the cage. He was getting good at this, a suggestion rather than actually forcing them. Echo of course just climbed his shoulder instead, she felt at home there. Looking down at Axel he shrugged. "I think you deserve better than life has given you. You also need to try and be better and you are trying, so."
"I am trying. I could be good. I could be so good for you, pretty Piper. I could not kill anyone if I had to. You know that, right? I could." He didn't know if he could. He hadn't faced actual challenges yet like his parents or the pressure to act, like Lisa telling him to do it and so on. He'd been on his meds for a week and he felt like such a good boy, he just wanted Hartley to know.
He wanted Hartley to approve and want him. Want him so much. "I would do anything for you."
"I don't want you to do things for me, Axel. Do them for yourself. You have to want to do and be something or you won't really change." Of course Axel was latching onto him, it made sense. Not a lot of alternatives and Hartley had been the only one to give him positive attention, it was hardly surprising. "Take it from someone who's lost because of principles. They have to be your own or you won't hold onto them."
"But I don't have any of those! I can't have what I don't have but I can have it for you. You set them and I do it. I'm really good at doing what people tell me." Not a selling point most would brag about but he was good at that. "Not that I'm so lackey, I'm not. I'm my own man." So there. "It's just that I-I don't have morals. Much. I mean I don't like to hurt certain people. Like you. I like you. And I kind of liked Barry, even if he didn't like me because we both had dads in the joint and we both were like legacy killers. And, you know, I don't want to kill any of the rogues. That's kind of it."
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mostlyajerk) wrote2018-01-24 02:00 pm
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He grinned excitedly and bounced a little. "Now you have a food and I should have rat cuddles, yeah?"
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Echo landed on his shoulder and sniffed him. He took that as a yes. Excited, he beamed at Hartley. "This is the best." It really was. "I also bought rat food."
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"I don't need to eat, I'm not hungry." He slowly coated Echo into his hands, lifting her up so she could nuzzle his cheek. "You do."
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He looked up at Hartley, letting Echo crawl along his shoulders. "I started my meds."
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Heh. Wait. "Oh! Shit. Do not tell my parents, they'll freak!" Just in case.
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He lowered his hand again before he could get any smart ideas. "I'm proud of you. How are you feeling?"
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Maybe he'd even find and wear his tiara for it. If there was one thing Axel Walker could not do, it was pretend to be straight. He wasn't straight, he wasn't even close to straight. He screamed gay and he was excited to use that to his and Hartley's advantage. "I'm feeling sick a lot and I keep getting dizzy but otherwise, okay, I guess. More stable, I think."
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He wanted Hartley to approve and want him. Want him so much. "I would do anything for you."
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